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2010: The year in pictures

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A US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft drops humanitarian aid into Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and surrounding areas on Jan. 18. The US military was conducting humanitarian and disaster relief operations as part of Operation Unified Response after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck the country on Jan. 12. Tech. Sgt. James L. Harper Jr./US Air Force/Reuters/File

US skier Lindsey Vonn reacts in the finish area after completing the Women's downhill at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, on Feb. 17. Gero Breloer/AP/File

President Obama is applauded after signing the health care bill in the East Room of the White House in Washington on March 23. Charles Dharapak/AP/File

The Deepwater Horizon oil rig burns after an explosion in the Gulf of Mexico off the southeast tip of Louisiana on April 21. Gerald Herbert/AP/File

Soccer fans blow vuvuzelas following the World Cup soccer match between South Africa and Mexico at Soccer City in Johannesburg, South Africa, on June 11. Hassan Ammar/AP/File

On June 23, Frank Wallace, who had been unemployed since May of 2009, holds a sign during a rally organized by the Philadelphia Unemployment Project in Philadelphia, Pa. Matt Rourke/AP/File

Members of the 1221st Route Clearance Company salute the US flag during a South Carolina Army National Guard deployment ceremony at the USC-Aiken Convocation Center baseball field in Aiken, S.C., on July 1. The group was preparing to deploy to Afghanistan. Rainier Ehrhardt/The Augusta Chronicle/AP/File

A firefighter attempts to extinguish a forest fire near the village of Dolginino, Russia, on Aug. 4 AP/File

On Oct. 13, rescued miner Juan Andres Illanes Palma reacts upon his arrival to the surface from the collapsed San Jose gold and copper mine where he was trapped with 32 other miners for more than two months near Copiapo, Chile. Roberto Candia/AP/File

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin speaks to the crowd during the kickoff of the nationwide Tea Party Express bus tour in Reno, Nev., on Oct. 18. Scott Sady/AP/File

Mount Merapi volcano spews smoke as seen from Sidorejo village in Klaten, Indonesia, on Nov. 1. Beawiharta/Reuters

Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi waves to her supporters from her house compound after her release from house arrest in Yangon, Myanmar, on Nov. 13. AP/File

Smoke billows from Yeonpyeong island near the border of North Korea, in South Korea, on Nov. 23. North Korea bombarded the South Korean island near their disputed western border Tuesday, setting buildings ablaze and killing at least one marine after warning the South to halt military drills in the area, South Korean officials said. Yonhap/AP

People use umbrellas to take cover from falling snow as they walk in the Tuileries garden in Paris, France, on Dec. 8. Charles Platiau/Reuters

During his 37 years as Zimbabwe’s prime minister and president, Robert Mugabe ordered the massacre of thousands of political opponents, ran the country’s economy into the ground, and instilled a culture of political violence and paranoia that will likely long outlast him.